1554
New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸
Traditional Beer - Gruit Regular|
Score
7.03
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1554 Black Lager beer uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be.
A surprisingly bright taste and a dry, chocolaty finish -- one evocative of dark brews enjoyed in Belgian taverns 500 years ago. Not a porter, not a stout -- it's 1554.
Enlightened Dark Ale
1554 defies the style guidelines of modern beer. Although dark in color, 1554 is not a porter, stout, schwarzbier or bock. Rather, it is a rebirth of a lost beer style called zwert (Flemish for black), which uses gruit for bittering. The oldest reference to zwert beer comes from 1285. However, our brewing inspiration came from a book published in 1554, which was the height of popularity for zwertbeer. First released in 1998, our whimsical improvisation includes a variety of specialty dark malts, a dash of licorice root, and a European lager yeast that’s fermented at ale temperatures.
A surprisingly bright taste and a dry, chocolaty finish -- one evocative of dark brews enjoyed in Belgian taverns 500 years ago. Not a porter, not a stout -- it's 1554.
Enlightened Dark Ale
1554 defies the style guidelines of modern beer. Although dark in color, 1554 is not a porter, stout, schwarzbier or bock. Rather, it is a rebirth of a lost beer style called zwert (Flemish for black), which uses gruit for bittering. The oldest reference to zwert beer comes from 1285. However, our brewing inspiration came from a book published in 1554, which was the height of popularity for zwertbeer. First released in 1998, our whimsical improvisation includes a variety of specialty dark malts, a dash of licorice root, and a European lager yeast that’s fermented at ale temperatures.
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8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
6-pack from Giant, served in tulip glass. Very dark brown, faint malt nose, minimal head from light carbonation. Mildly bitter taste and nice clean finish.
Tried
on 14 Dec 2014
at 12:33
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle from QClub at Justin's bday. Surprisingly chocolatey aroma and taste while still being light and crisp. Better than expected, would get again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Sep 2014
at 04:24
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle from GBBF 2014 and drunk at home. Black beer with lasting dark beige head. Chocolate dunkel lager aroma. Tasty as hell. Tasty fresh some milky chocolate with a fresh lager hop finish. It’s a pleasingly tasty dunkel. Not a huge depth, but the flavours work well. The hops are quite dominant especially on the finish, more so than you would get on a typical German dunkel. It’s good though. Very drinkable and yet very interesting and has layers of flavour at the same time. I liked it very much.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Aug 2014
at 14:03
8/10
Tried
on 03 Jun 2014
at 16:38
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
From a bottle, perhaps some roasted smells in there. Looks just fine! Taste is perhaps more personalty than i care for yet it is still well behaved. Yes, one of my favorite styles.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 May 2014
at 13:56
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
On tap at New Belgium Hub at DEN. Deep reddish brown with a thick tan head that leaves sheets on the snifter. Nose is lots of toasted malts with coffee and vanilla. Low sweetness chocolate and nuts with a medium dry bitterness. Medium creamy mouth with average carbonation
Tried
from Draft
on 04 May 2014
at 19:04
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 7
Draught at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, on April 6, 2014.As "New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Lager".Clear dark red color, teal head. Malty, hoppy, sweet, herbal, caramel taste. Caramel, mineral aftertaste. Fizzy mouthfeel, low bitterness. Malty, grainy scent.
Tried
on 14 Apr 2014
at 08:24
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Not bad, really just tastes like a schwazbier. Some roast malt here and a light note of dark chocolate. Pours black with ok head and lacing. Finishes crisp with a light dose of bitterness. Bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Mar 2014
at 13:05
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
She pours a dark brown/somewhat black colored body with a slim half fingered white foamy head and barely any lacing, but what there is spider webs a bit.
The smell has earthy sugary maltiness, light Belgian yeasty notes but super subtle and one really has to let this warm as I think I may have picked this up just a bit too cold.
The taste showcases the same flavor as the smell and gives off a sugary yet somewhat Belgian yeasty aftertaste that comes across in the finish and ends up adding a light chocolate in the finish as well
The palate is basically a medium on the body with a slim soft carbonation that comes across pretty well for the style and to me.
Overall, I’d say this is a pretty good Belgian dark beer that I think I would have again if offered.
The smell has earthy sugary maltiness, light Belgian yeasty notes but super subtle and one really has to let this warm as I think I may have picked this up just a bit too cold.
The taste showcases the same flavor as the smell and gives off a sugary yet somewhat Belgian yeasty aftertaste that comes across in the finish and ends up adding a light chocolate in the finish as well
The palate is basically a medium on the body with a slim soft carbonation that comes across pretty well for the style and to me.
Overall, I’d say this is a pretty good Belgian dark beer that I think I would have again if offered.
Tried
on 02 Feb 2014
at 23:02
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle. A- Coffee, roasty, dark chocolate, dark fruits, licorice. A- Black color, dark liquid,minimal tan head. T- Cocoa, molasses, dark fruits, malty, dough. P- Medium body, average texture, average carbonation, roasty finish. O- For some odd reason the aroma and taste of this beer reminds me a lot of Skoal tobacco. It also has a much thinner body than I was expecting. Maybe it was the hype that had be all excited for this beer. While it was a good beer, it wasn’t as great as I was led to believe.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Jan 2014
at 17:21